UK Skills Shortage List

The UK Skills Shortage list contains the UK government approved
shortage occupations for the Tier 2
points-based visa immigration system.
If you are thinking of coming to the UK to look for job, see the list of occupations and skills shortage here to help you assess your eligibility and likelihood of getting a tier 2 visa.

If you have the right qualification and experience, the UK job market needs you. There is a great Skills Shortage in the UK.

"One in five job vacancies are unfilled because employers cannot find workers with the right skills", reports The Guardian newspaper of Thursday 30 January 2014. And the BBC, on the 14th of March 2014, reports that "Business leaders have said a growing shortage of skills in the hi-tech sector is threatening Britain's economic recovery."

If the economy must grow, people with the right skill mix must be
allowed into the UK to fill such roles where there is a dearth of
indigenous UK skilled workers.

A survey of European CIOs by IDC for Cisco has found demand for people
with these skills is "likely to outstrip availability by about 40,000
people in the UK. Across Europe there will be a shortfall of half a
million people."

Yet another report from the Contractor UK website, a leading IT provider reads: "Britain is facing an IT skills gap in the workforce that threatens
to damage global competitiveness within 10 years if not addressed,
according to a new report from E-Skills". … and from the BBC, "The skills shortage is costing the UK billions of pounds".

A study by the national Skills Task Force backs up previous researchers
by suggesting that nearly one in five adults - about seven million grownups -
have a lower level of literacy than the average 11 year old.

So the UK needs you. You don't have to be a rocket scientist or professor of brain surgery to be on the list. If you are a secondary school teacher in the fields of Mathematics and science, or a skilled chef who meets certain other criteria, you could be on your way to getting a work visa to come into or remain in the UK.

List of UK Skills Shortage Occupations

The following are jobs in the latest list of UK skills shortage or shortage occupations as at of April 2014.

If you have any of these skills and can get a valid certificate of
sponsorship from a prospective employer in the UK, you can apply to come
to the UK, or remain here under the Tier 2 immigration point based
visa system.

What many have done in the past is to study this list and then take courses and train in any of these UK skills shortage occupations as well as obtain the relevant work experience. In most cases, this would take 1 to 5 years. It could be a worthwhile investment, depending on your aspirations, values and circumstances.

We list these occupations in alphabetic order (headings) as much as possible.

1. Biological Scientists (And Biochemists) Occupation Code = 2112

ONLY the following jobs in this occupation code:

Clinical neurophysiologist

2. Chefs & Cooks - Occupation Code = 5434

ONLY the following job in this occupation code for UK skills shortage:

Skilled chef where: the pay is at least £29, 570 per year after deductions for accommodation, meals etc; and the job requires five or more years relevant experience, and the job is not a fast food outlet or a standard fare outlet or an establishment which provides takeaway services. The job must be in one of the following categories - executive chef, head chef, sous chef or specialist chef.

3. Civil Engineers - Occupation Code = 2121

ONLY the following jobs in this occupation code

Geotechnical engineer

Geotechnical design engineer

Geotechnical specialist

Reservoir panel engineer

Rock mechanics engineer

Soil mechanics engineer

Geomechanics engineer

Tunnelling engineer

Petroleum engineer

Geoenvironmental engineer Section F – construction

Contaminated land engineer

Drilling engineer

Completions engineer

Fluids engineer

Reservoir engineer

Status resource engineer

Offshore and Subsea engineer

control and instrument engineer

Process safety engineer

Planning drilling engineer

Subsurface engineer

Project civil engineer in the electricity generation industry

Contaminated land engineer

4. Dancers (And Choreographers) - Occupation Code = 3414

ONLY the following jobs in this occupation code for UK skills shortage:

Skilled
classical ballet dancers who meet the standard required by
internationally recognised United Kingdom ballet companies (e.g.
Birmingham Royal Ballet, English National Ballet, Northern Ballet
Theatre, The Royal Ballet and Scottish Ballet). The company must either: have
performed at or been invited to perform at venues of the calibre of the
Royal Opera House, Sadler’s Wells or Barbican, either in the United
Kingdom or overseas; Or attract dancers and/or choreographers and other artists from other countries; or be
endorsed as being internationally recognized by a United Kingdom
industry body such as the Arts Councils (of England, Scotland and/or
Wales)

Skilled Contemporary Dancers who meet the standard required by internationally recognized United Kingdom contemporary dance companies (e.g shobana Jeyasingh Dance Company, Scottish Dance Theatre and Rambert Dance Company). The company must either: have
performed at or been invited to perform at venues of the calibre of the
Royal Opera House, Sadler’s Wells or Barbican, either in the United
Kingdom or overseas; Or attract dancers and/or choreographers and other artists from other countries; or be
endorsed as being internationally recognized by a United Kingdom
industry body such as the Arts Councils (of England, Scotland and/or
Wales).

5. Design (And Development Engineers) Occupation Code = 2126

ONLY the following job in this occupation code:

Design engineer in the electricity transmission and distribution industry

Product Design Engineer, Automotive design and manufacturing

Product Development Engineer, Automotive design and manufacturing

Integrated Circuit Design Engineer, Electronics systems

Integrated Circuit Testing Engineer, Electronic systems.

6. Electrical Engineers - Occupation Code = 2123

ONLY the following jobs in this occupation code for UK skills shortage:

Electrical engineers in the oil and gas industry

All electrical engineers in the electricity transmission and distribution industry, including the following: